Piaggio Aero, the Italian aircraft manufacturer, has signed an agreement that calls for 22 Avanti II twin turboprop business aircraft to be delivered to U.S. fractional ownership operator Avantair from 2011 through 2012. Valued at $150 million, the deal represents "one of the largest sales in the history of Piaggio Aero," said company CEO Josй Di Mase.

Considering that the fractional-aircraft field was borne of a new business model and has been around for more than 20 years, it is perhaps surprising that the basic structure remains fundamentally unchanged: you purchase a share of an aircraft from the provider at a premium; you pay management fees, hourly rates and fuel surcharges; and at the end of your contract, you sell your share back to t

Inner beauty really does trump outward appearance-especially after factoring in comfort and utility. Your aircraft's interior, from the suppleness of the seats to the entertainment system, has a huge impact on both ownership experience and resale value.

Raytheon has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Flight Options, its Cleveland-based business aircraft fractional ownership division, to HIG Capital, a global private investment firm headquartered in Miami. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2007.

About 14,000 new business aircraft valued at $233 billion will be delivered from 2007 through 2017, predicted Honeywell, the engine and avionics specialist, in its latest annual forecast. That's decidedly more optimistic than the firm's 2006 forecast, which predicted deliveries valued at $195 billion from 2006 through 2016.

Pages

Quote/Unquote

“When you get into the larger aircraft it becomes like a hotel, with dozens of staff supporting the plane based in a galley area down below. You have very comprehensive cooking facilities, and on larger aircraft we have looked at theatres, with spiral staircases and a Steinway grand piano. The limitations for what you can put inside a plane are pretty much the limits of physics, and even money cannot always overcome that. Even so, people are still always trying to push [the limits]. ”